It is what it is…

Proposal:

It is what it is is an exhibition that consists of works that manipulate and transform the traditional forms of art making as means of visually communicating and questioning current issues. The participating contemporary artists depart from the modernistic notion of art making technically and by conceptually developing their work in order to communicate through material use. As a result, the works reflect the self-conscious use of traditional styles and mediums. These participating artists include Neo Diseko, Richard Specs Ndimande, Dimakatso Mathopa and Assent Menwe.
In his work, Neo Diseko deals with the self and its manifestation through gender identity. The work is a portrait of the artist engaging with a piece of fabric that one could compellingly associate with femininity. In so doing he uses the painting medium in such a way to evoke a sense of strangeness as commentary to society’s response towards members of the LGBTI community.
Richard Specs Ndimande on the hand uses sculpture to talk about social justice and compassion as a person that always gives and has the world take advantage of them. He uses a cow as a metaphor and manipulates cow skin to create a two-dimensional piece and this steps away from traditional forms of sculpture making as the work is presented on a flat surface.
Dimakatso Mathopa addresses racial issues through unpacking stereotypes surrounding the blackness. The aim is to understand and furthermore educate society about what ‘Africaness’ consists of. Mathopa focuses on conveying how “forcefully” implicated stereotypes become problematic for any being and uses silkscreen to impose the idea of a black face.
Printmaker, Assent Menwe specializes in etching. Her work deals with social justice and by using etching, she aims to manipulate the nature of the technique in order to create mark making that communicates her perception of social justice.

Biography:

This group consists of four young emerging artists from the University of Johannesburg. All four artists have background knowledge in traditional mediums such as printmaking, sculpture, painting. They also have knowledge in video and photography. The four artists are Neo Diseko (20) majoring in painting, Richard Specs Ndimande (22) majoring in sculpture, Dimakatso Mathopa (20) and Assent Menwe (22).

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